Update from Rio, Brazil

Greetings from the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro,

God continues to show His faithfulness to the church and in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, we have seen the church rally together and continue to grow little by little. As a nation, Brazil has been hard hit by the pandemic and there have been over 1.2 million cases reported, with over 55 thousand deaths, and it is believed that we have not yet reached the peak. Political chaos and confusion continue to muddy the waters around the pandemic. While the nation seems to be floundering, God has reminded us as a church of the clear call and great need for disciples to be made and the kingdom of God to be advanced. The future of this beautiful nation depends on it, and the current situation has galvanised our faith yet again and the church has become stronger over these past months.

Like churches around the world, EN Rio has gone online and our Sunday services and small groups have been meeting over Zoom, Whatsapp, YouTube and various other platforms. Although the church is still small, we have seen some new people join us online and it’s been exciting to see what God does when our normal routines are disrupted. Our online community has in many ways highlighted the importance of our relationships and our small family continues to grow in our commitment to one another, our communities around us and our city.

One of the Brazilian couples who have joined the church, Marcelo and Lucinea, mobilised the church to compile and distribute essential food baskets for people in need in our neighbourhoods. Poverty is a significant problem in the nation and the pandemic has exacerbated the need of many people. The generosity of the members of the church clearly demonstrated the heart of God and the number of food baskets collected greatly exceeded Marcelo and Lucinea’s original faith goal!

Recently, the leaders of Every Nation churches in Latin America met and prayed together online. Currently, there are very few Every Nation churches and campus ministries in the continent and it has been encouraging to see the relationships strengthen among the leaders.

Jim Critcher brought a prophetic word for the continent saying that although this year the world has been out of season, God is bringing the church into a season of harvest. We continue to trust God for a great harvest in Rio, Brazil, and across this magnificent continent of Latin America.

Please pray with us for:

- The church to grow and for God to establish the work of our hands.

- Open doors on the university campuses in Rio.

- Some of our team have continued visa issues, and we are trusting God to make permanent plans for the team to stay.

- The Every Nation family in Latin America to move into a great season of harvest.

- Wisdom for our governmental leaders to steer the nation through the pandemic and for the spread of covid-19 to slow down and retreat.

Thank you so much for all your faith-filled prayers and support.